Friendship Set Ablaze in the Dark
by Blue Obsidian Butterfly
Summary: Auggie gets shot and almost dies, causing Annie to admit her feelings. Who will he choose; her or Parker. Feelings come to light, hopes are dashed and worst nightmares are realized. What will happen? Rating for horror themes


**Disclaimer: I do not own Covert Affairs.**

**A/N: Ok, first of all, I have changed my pen name, it was previously animallvr4eva. The next chapter of Operation Coffee will be out soon, I have a couple of things to finish off and this story was one of them. It was a page but now it's grown quite a lot…**

**Italics are dreams**

Friendship set ablaze in the dark

Love, regrets, and lost hope were the emotions that ran through Auggie's head as the final bullet was fired, his sightless brown eyes stared ahead as he felt the sharp pain of the bullet, the world tipped, almost in slow motion and the pain overtook him. They were loud, those final few moments, the gunshot sounding louder than normal to his heightened ears. It hurt too, so much so that his head hitting the ground wasn't felt. Neither was anything else, just pain and then nothing, no more regrets, lost love, hope, just numbness. He was gone.

The steady thump that echoed through the room reassured her that he was still here, his heart was still beating and that's all that mattered, right? That he was still here, alive and breathing. Annie let out a sigh as the sound, which she had assumed to be his heartbeat, gradually decreased, almost disappearing completely, to be replaced by the beeping of the many machines that were attached to him. The hospital room was stark white and she idly wondered why they made them so drab. People were supposed to get better in them, right? Not depressed. It certainly didn't give one hope.

It had been seventeen long hours since Auggie had been shot. Seventeen hours since she heard the horrible sound of a gun being fired at her best friend. Seventeen hours since she heard the cry of pain as the bullet hit him. She had thought that he was dead, everyone did. But Annie refused to give up, refused to believe it. At the very least, she could bury her best friend properly. And that hope, that determination is what led to him being found unconscious and bleeding on the floor of an abandoned warehouse dying but, most importantly, still alive. She had saved him, just like he had done for her so many times before. No matter what happened he would always save her, she just wished that she could have saved him sooner or, better yet, have stopped him from going in the first place.

The mission was dangerous, something that Arthur had neglected to mention. First Jai and now Auggie. Hadn't he learnt anything? Jai was dead and now Auggie was fighting for his life. Yet the world kept turning, friends and colleagues wondering if another star would be carved. The star meant nothing to Annie as long as Auggie was still breathing. He would be remembered, she knew that but that didn't stop the tears that threatened to spill over the sight of her best friend in a coma. She didn't lose faith though, even as the doctor ushered her out of the room, telling her that his chances of survival were slim. Even as the minutes turned into hours and the hours turned into days Annie would never lose hope. He would wake up one day. And she would tell him how much he meant to her, how much she loved him.

That day came sooner than she thought. It had been 5 days since the shooting, every one of which she spent in Auggie's room. She read to him every day and (though she will never admit this to anybody) sung to him. He simply lay there motionless, the machines measuring his heartbeat, assuring her that he was still alive. His chest barely moved but he kept breathing. She wondered if he could hear her or at least feel her presence. Probably not, but she liked to think he did. All the time she had been there, the mysterious Parker had not once come to visit him. Although Annie had never met Parker, she disliked the woman even though Auggie had spoken so highly of her, mainly because she hadn't come. Oh well, Annie thought, she doesn't deserve him. She looked back at Auggie, her hand in his, and there was no change. He still lay there, like always. But as long as he was still breathing she would be there, refusing to lose hope.

Later that night, after Annie had read him yet another book and was getting ready to try and get some sleep, she felt a small touch on her hand, the one that was clasped in Auggie's. She looked up at him, startled, but he still lay there unmoving.

"Auggie?" She asked but there was no response. Annie nudged him gently with her other hand. Nothing happened. She put the touch that she felt down to her being exhausted and laid her head on the pillow that she held against the wall and closed her eyes, praying for sleep to overtake her.

_Her feet hurt so badly but she kept running, needing to get away from the thing that was chasing her. The forest was thick, preventing her from seeing more than a few feet in front of her and fog swallowed up the forest behind her. Adrenalin was the only thing that kept her from completely passing out, that and fear of what would happen if she got caught by it. She stumbled over a log and almost lost her balance but she picked herself up and kept going, glancing behind her as she ran. She could see only fog but she felt it's presence behind her, getting closer. Despite the fact that she was out of breath and there wasn't a part of her body that didn't hurt, she picked up pace and ran faster, her swollen feet barely able to keep up the speed that she so desperately needed. _

_As she turned back to what was in front of her, she stopped, almost falling over. Shock overtook her as she stared at what was once a person, dangling from a branch high in a pine tree. It was hanging by a thin piece of rope, barely thick enough to hold its weight. Whoever it had been had died a horrible death, covered in shards of glass and burns. Annie knew that she should keep moving but she felt that she should at least give this poor person a bit of respect so she picked a white flower from a nearby bush and got closer, placing it on the base of the tree. She looked up to find the body closer than it had been before, almost touching her and a scream erupted from her throat as she realised who it was. Blood leaked from the flower that she had put on the tree trunk as she bolted, running as far away from jai's body as she could, not daring to look behind her. She could feel the things breath on the back of her neck and she realised that it had killed him and she was going to be next. _

_Annie rounded a corner into a clearing and, realising that she would be exposed if she went into it, she turned left and ran around the edge of it, looking behind her as she went. Its presence still leaked out from behind her but she had gained some much-needed distance. Again she picked up pace, a small amount of hope filling her at the thought of getting away. The hope intensified as a house appeared in front of her. It was fairly small and made entirely out of logs. She ran up to the door and knocked, the sound echoing off the walls. Fear started to creep through her when no-one answered. There was something off about the house and Annie knew that she should keep running but the hope of finding something helpful inside made her open the door and peek inside. The fact that it was unlocked didn't escape her. _

_The inside of the house was covered in dust and she couldn't see past the first room, which was cleared of furniture apart from what looked to be then size and shape of a piano, covered by a sheet. She cautiously walked further into the house, quietly closing the door behind her, should the thing go past the house. Her footsteps echoed through the empty room, floorboards creaking under her weight. As she turned the corner into the next room, the feeling of wrongness intensified and she found it equally bare. Something was off; she just couldn't put her finger on what it was. At that moment Annie wanted nothing more than to turn around and leave but something stopped her. Deciding against her better judgement, she went further into the house, rounding yet another corner into what looked like a kitchen. Unlike the other rooms, this one wasn't completely bare. It had a counter, cupboards and a stove. It was a mess, cupboard doors ripped off their hinges, food packets strewn everywhere yet there was not a piece of food in sight. There was, however, a trail of blood, leading into the next room, which was black beyond the opening of the doorway. Panic swept through her as she entered the bare room. The blood trail continued through the next door which, unlike the others, was opposite her. It was also closed and Annie realised that it was a basement door. She wanted so desperately to turn and run out of the house but her feet kept moving towards the door and she found herself unable to stop. Her hand reached the knob and she turned it, her hands now shaking and fear swept through her as she slowly opened the door. Her eyes, up until now had been closed but she opened them as the smell of stale blood and rotting flesh overwhelmed her. A scream tore through her throat at the sight of Michael and Danielle tied to the roof of the basement, torn to shred, strips of flesh hanging off them. Blood dripped down their faces, frozen and terrified in death._

"_You did this" a harsh voice whispered into her ear, filling her with dread and she turned and bolted, the thing right behind her. Her feet hit the floorboard, sounding like gunshots in the empty house. She turned into the kitchen and saw the shadow of the thing coming towards her from the direction of the front door, blocking her exit. She ran up the stairs, too panicked to realise that they hadn't been there before. She ran into a room and ducked behind a set of draws, her heart pounding in her ears. She peaked out from her hiding place and saw a shadow pass the doorway, continuing on. She sighed and turned back. Upon closer inspection, she found that the chest of draws that were her current hiding place were in fact pink, not brown like she had originally thought. The room was also a lot bigger than she had originally thought and she realised that it was big enough for two small people. Children, Annie realised as dread once again swept through her. She knew who the room belonged to. Annie gulped and slowly turned around, covering her mouth with her hand to prevent yet another scream from letting the thing know where she was. Directly behind her stood Chloe and Kaita, covert in blood, flesh falling off their bones._

"_You did this" they echoed in unison, stepping closer. The scream that she had suppressed tore through her and she ran, no longer caring if the thing heard her. The stairs felt like spikes under her feet but she kept going through the empty rooms and out the front door, never looking back even as chants of "You did this" echoed through the house, getting louder and louder. _

_After what seemed like hours Annie could no longer hear the chants but they haunted her, even as the thing got further and further away. Images of the people she loved dead ran through her head over and over, like a sick song that would not stop. She struggled to keep running as tears blurred her vision until she eventually stopped at the base of a tree, sliding down and curling up into a ball, tears spilling down her cheeks, stained by the blood of the people that she loved. She kept crying until she had no tears left to give._

_She wiped her eyes and looked up, half expecting the thing to be there. Instead she saw a coffin, precariously balanced on a log. By this point she already knew that someone she loved was likely dead inside but curiosity got the better of her and she cautiously made her way towards it. When she got closer she found that her original assumption of a coffin was incorrect, it was a pine box. She checked the sides for blood but found none. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and opened the lid. When she was not met by the smell of blood or rotting flesh she slowly opened them and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks despite the fact that she hadn't been able to cry anymore. Auggie lay in the box, eye closed almost as if he was asleep. He was wearing the same jeans and t-shirt that he had been when she saw him as he was leaving for a mission, his first in months. He looked so peaceful, like he was just sleeping._

"_Oh Auggie, I'm so sorry" she said as more tears fell down her cheeks at the sight of her best friend dead. Annie lent down and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, lingering for a moment. As she rose back up, she noticed his chest moving slightly. Panicked, she turned to run and let out a scream when he coughed and sat up._

"_Auggie, your alive" She said as she helped him to sit up._

"_Annie?" he replied, confused._

"_Yeah Ag, it's me. We need to go, it might have heard me scream"_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_There is no time to explain, we need to move now" she said as he got out of the box._

"_Annie, what's going on?" _

"_You're just going to have to trust me, I won't let anything happen to you. Grab my arm and try to run with me" she told him as she let her arm brush his hand._

"_Ok then" He said, grabbing her arm. The two started running, Annie telling him when something was in his way._

_After a while they came to a stop in front of what looked to be some kind of rocky cave._

"_What is it?" Auggie asked, out of breath._

"_It's a cave. We should keep moving"_

"_Annie, it's getting cold. We need shelter"_

"_No, trust me Auggie. It's best to just keep running"_

"_We can't keep running forever"_

"_I would rather that than to be torn to shreds"_

"_Annie, what are you talking about?"_

_It started to rain, slowly getting heavier. _

"_Annie, we need shelter" Auggie said as he shivered from the unusually cold and heavy rain that fell in large droplets, blanketing the forest in a steady rhythm._

_She sighed in defeat and they entered the cave, shivering as the temperature dropped slightly._

"_Alright Annie, what do you see?" Auggie asked. Annie was immediately hit by the feeling that something was wrong._

"_Auggie, why didn't your voice echo?" She asked him, turning around to look at the cave. Everything was black._

"_I don't know, maybe the rain drowned it out" he replied, preoccupied._

"_The rain isn't that loud in here and it's the perfect size and shape for an echo"_

"_Yeah, I guess that's a bit strange" he said as he focused his attention on Annie._

"_Something's not right, we need to go" Annie said as she started for the edge of the cave._

"_Annie, it's pouring with rain, we will end up with hypothermia if we go out there"_

"_It's better than finding someone else dead"_

"_Who's dead?"_

"_Everyone" Annie said as a sob escaped her. Hearing her start to cry, Auggie wrapped his arms around her. A chocking sound escaped him and Annie looked up in horror to find the thing standing behind him and blood dripping down Auggie's chest._

"_No!" She screamed as Auggie fell to the ground, blood pooling around him. Tears ran down her cheeks, mixing with the crimson red of the blood, his blood. She had promised not to let anything happen to him. She looked up only to come face to face with the thing. It wasn't what she thought; it had the shape of a human but was completely black, like a shadow. It had no face, just a black hole. She realised that the shadow she had seen in the house wasn't a shadow but the thing itself. Annie scrambled up and bolted, realising too late that she was running further into the cave. She couldn't see very far in front of her and she tripped over something hard. Looking up, she screamed when she saw that it was Joan that she had tripped over. She was also dead but unlike the others, she hadn't been violently killed rather, she was made of stone. Annie scrambled backwards only to bump into something else. She turned around to find another stone person, Leena. Her screams echoed through the cave as the thing appeared in front of her. It grabbed her by the throat and pushed her up against a nearby wall. She struggled and kicked at it, her feet meeting nothing but air. The stone wall of the cave scratched her back as she continued to struggle, fighting a losing battle. Her vision started to blur as her lounges screamed for air. She stared into the black face of her attacker and the black started to swirl around, a face emerging out of the nothing. Simon's face. He was the thing. Suddenly, in those final few moments everything made sense. This was all her fault._

Annie woke up with a start, almost falling off the chair that she had fallen asleep on. She looked over at Auggie, who looked back at her, eyes meeting hers despite the fact that he couldn't see anything.

"Auggie" she whispered as silent tears spilled down her face.

"Your awake" she smiled and gently hugged him, the nightmare pushed to the back of her mind. His doctor, a short brown haired man in a white coat, walked in and immediately began to examine him, asking question after question and checking all the machines, detaching some and giving Auggie needles. Are, you ok, how are you feeling? He just woke up from a coma, how do you think he feels? Annie thought as she watched the chaos of the doctors and nurses start to die down.

"What happened?" Auggie asked her, wanting the answers that the doctors had refused to give him.

"You were shot on the mission. How much do you remember?" she asked gently, not wanting to push him.

"I remember being in the hotel room but that's about it" He replied. Annie was secretly glad that he didn't remember being shot, it was best that way.

"How long was I out?"

"Almost an entire week"

"Oh no, I missed the release of the latest Lady Gaga CD" Auggie joked.

"Auggie, you hate Lady Gaga"

"Yeah but Parker likes it" Annie's heart fell at the sound of HER name. It was now or never. Taking a deep breath, she started to talk.

"Um, Auggie. There is something I need to tell you but I am not really sure how" She said. How do you tell your best friend that you're in love with him? She wondered.

"Just say it Annie, there is no point trying to sugar-coat it"

"It's nothing bad just, well I'm not really sure how to tell you or how you are going to react" she said nervously as butterflies raged a war in her stomach.

"Just say it Annie, I was Special Forces, I'm sure I can it" he said smiling, causing a small laugh to escape Annie.

"Well what do you know, he cracks a joke" she replied, her nerves easing slightly. Auggie would never make her feel uncomfortable.

"Here goes nothing. Auggie I have feeling for you… ones that go beyond friendship and I…I think…no, I am…in love with you" she stuttered. Auggie's face froze as he digested the words. She loved him? Annie looked up and watched the emotion play over his face; confusion, understanding, worry, hurt but the emotion that was noticeably missing was happiness and that's when she knew. The hurt wasn't because she had hurt him, it was because he was about to hurt her. Tears pooled behind her eyes as she got up and started to back out of the room, her back hitting something. She turned around to find a woman standing there, looking slightly startled.

"Oh, sorry" she said.

"No, it's my fault" Annie replied, schooling her features. Hearing the other woman's voice, Auggie spoke up.

"Annie, this is Parker. Parker, this is my friend Annie." The two women looked at each other before Annie made her excuses and left, tears threatening to spill down her face as she made her way out of the hospital. Not only had she made a total fool out of herself but she may have just lost her best friend. Knowing that he didn't feel the same way hurt. She had not known how he felt but there was always a small amount of hope that just maybe he felt the same way. Now she knew for sure and it hurt. Hurt more than being strangled, shot at, and blown up. It tore at her very soul.

Auggie was confused. She loved him? She had been his best friend for a long time and he couldn't imagine life without her but to think that all that time she had been in love with him. The thought simultaneously warmed him and scared the crap out of him. He did have feelings for her but he has suppressed them for so long that he never thought anything of them. Now he had Parker and all that was in the past or so he had thought. He sighed and laid his head on the pillow. It was going to be a long night.

_He couldn't see anything but that was nothing new. What scared him was the fact that he didn't know where he was. It smelled disgusting, like rotting flesh and the smell clogged his noise and coated the back of his throat. He couldn't get away from it, it was so overwhelming. The next thing he noticed was the deafening silence. It was eerie, far too quiet to be normal. There was always sound; traffic, people, crickets, something but here, wherever here was, there was nothing. He turned to his other sense: touch only to find that he couldn't feel his fingers. He tried to move them but nothing happened. Panic threatened to take over his body but he shut it down, ordering himself to take control of the situation. He slowly tried to move his arm but he couldn't feel that either. Auggie then tried to move his other arm, only to have the same result. He then tried to move his legs and feet and he was shocked to realise that he couldn't feel them either. _

_A scream threatened to erupt in his throat but he pushed it back, his training kicking in. The most important thing, his trainer had once said to a very young and eager August Anderson, is to assess the situation. You can't decide on a course of action if you don't know what you are up against. Auggie used what little information that he had gathered and came to one conclusion: he was in danger. Someone had died here and recently, judging by the smell and he had obviously been drugged, that was the only explanation that he could come up with for why he couldn't feel his whole body. But something didn't make sense, that one little nagging piece of information at the back of his brain threatening panic; he could still feel his chest. What kind of drug would prevent him from feeling all his limbs but not his chest and head? A sinking feeling filled his chest the more he thought about it. What the hell was going on? He felt something move on his chest, tickling him slightly, kind of like a bug. Probably just a fly, he though. But then he felt a piercing pain, where the bug had been a few moments before and he realised that it had bitten him, hard. He had been through a lot in Iraq but this may have just been one of the most painful things that he had ever felt. It felt like the bug was ripping his flesh off. Auggie then felt another bug crawl across his flesh and bite down. Horror overtook him as he realised what was going on. It was his flesh that was rotting, slowly being eaten alive by bugs, piece by piece. He was being eaten alive and there was nothing that he could do to stop it, powerless against the small but deadly creatures consuming him. The scream that he had been repressing for so long finally tore free as he lay there, helpless against the attack of tiny mouths feasting upon his flesh._

Auggie bolted up-right in the bed, sweat covering his body. He felt a hand on his shoulder and swatted at it, adrenaline and fear still coursing through his body.

"August, it's ok" a distant voice said.

"What's going on, what's happening?" He desperately asked.

"You were having a nightmare" the voice, which he now recognised as his doctors, said.

"Where's Annie?" He asked, wanting to feel her hand in his without fully realising it.

"Do you mean the brunette?" The doctor replied, confused as to which woman he was asking for.

"Brunette?" Auggie repeated.

"Yes, the one who was here when you fell asleep"

"Oh, you mean Parker" He said, understanding dawning on him. "Did she leave?"

"Yes, as soon as you fell asleep. Would you like us to call her?"

"No, that's ok" Auggie replied, digesting the information. She had left him as soon as he fell asleep. Auggie felt somewhat betrayed by this. Could she not have spared a few hours to be with him when he needed her?

"Doctor" Auggie called just as the man was leaving the room.

"Yes" he replied.

"There was a blonde woman in here before, this morning. How long had she been there?"

"Ever since they brought you in. She was in the helicopter with you and she waited for you during surgery and she had been in your room ever since. She left this morning, looking very upset"

"Ok, thank-you"

For the first time since he woke up Auggie was somewhat glad to be alone. He needed some time to sort out his feelings and think.

"It can wait, you should have been here!" Doctor Gorham stopped outside one of his patient's room as he heard yelling coming from the inside. He checked the name on the chart to find that it was August, the blind man who had been shot. Extra stress would certainly not help his condition. The doctor carefully opened the door, half expecting a bomb to fall out at the way they were arguing. Deeming the area clear, he entered the room further to find the brunette that had been in there yesterday arguing with the patient.

"Excuse me" he tentatively said, the two pausing in mid argument.

"If you don't mind this is a private conversation" the woman said.

"Arguing is no good for Mr Anderson's recovery so I am sorry but I am going to have to ask you to leave" the doctor replied in as much as a professional tone as he could muster. Patients were not his strong point.

"You can't do that" the woman snapped.

"Parker, I think it's best that you leave" Auggie said.

"If I walk out that door then I can assure you that I won't ever come back" she said, emotion lacing her voice.

"Just go" Auggie said, his voice cracking.

She walked out.

Two weeks later Auggie still hadn't heard from Annie. He had missed her a lot. The hospital had given him a lot of time to think and decide on what he really wanted. Thinking back on it now, the answer was simple; Annie. And now that he was being released, he was going to find her and tell her how he felt.

The ride to her house was uneventful, save from his regular driver, Chris, asking if he was ok and what happened. He responded with the CIA's cover story of the shooting being a gun range accident. As they arrived Chris offered to help him to the door, to which he gratefully accepted, not knowing the way well enough to go on his own.

He thanked Chris as they walked up the front stoop of Annie's guest house and upon arriving at the door; he left Auggie to do what he had to. He raised his hand and knocked briskly three times, listening for noise on the inside. He heard a bang followed by a string of curses in what sounded like Russian. Auggie smiled to himself, she was defiantly unique. He heard the door open followed by a sigh.

"Auggie, what do you want?" Annie asked, exasperated.

"I wanted to see you, so to speak" he replied, smirking.

"Auggie, I am glad you're ok and all but can we get this over with quickly?"

"Sure. There's only one think I want to say, anyway"

"What's that?"

"I love you too"

**A/N: If you have made it this far, thank-you for reading :) I would really appreciate it if you could leave a review and tell me what you thought, I haven't written many stories like this, I usually write humour.**


End file.
